Michael Gaio joined Athletic Business in 2012, originally serving as social media manager and eMedia editor before becoming marketing director. Prior to AB, Michael worked in the athletic department at Baylor University where he documented every move of Robert Griffin III and the rest of the Bears for the university's website and a local TV affiliate. Michael, a native of Plymouth, Minnesota, is the lone Vikings fan in the AB office and a proud graduate of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. Get in touch with him on Twitter, @MichaelGaio.

Mississippi State is raising the bar when it comes to college baseball facilities. The school unveiled a $40 million plan for Dudy Noble Field on Tuesday that "aims to remake the Bulldogs’ home ballpark into the finest in college baseball." Looking at the renderings, and the fly-through video below, it's clear that goal isn't just hyperbole.

The latest trend coming to football stadiums is "toes-on-the-turf" experiences. Aside from strapping on a helmet and making a tackle, seating arrangements that allow fans to watch the game while standing on the playing surface are bringing them as close to the action as possible.

Attracting students to college football games is a challenge for schools across the country. As AB reported last year, even the Alabamas of the world are having a tough time drawing students away from the tailgating scene and into the stadium. Last week, the University of Iowa launched a promotion to solve this problem.

Perfect for protecting your athletic facilities, the Guardian 8 Pro V2 is an enhanced non-lethal tool designed to deliver layered defense and incident recording to all security professionals. Join Nick Sundberg of the Washington Redskins as he learns how to use the device in this short video.

When I was invited by Regupol America to tour several athletic and fitness facilities earlier this month, I had no idea what I was in for. Working for AB, we know how important the right kind of flooring is — it impacts everything from acoustics and aesthetics to cost and usability — but it takes getting out of the office and seeing the details up close to really understand how flooring can make an impact.

There’s nothing like attending a good trade show, especially in the fitness industry. The equipment, the innovation, the music, the energy, the people… Whether it’s our show or IHRSA, I consider attending these shows to be one of the perks of my job.

A professor of mine in journalism school at Missouri once said (actually, he tweeted): "Social media is like a gun. Smart people will use it as a useful tool, not-so-smart people will shoot themselves in the foot with it."

First there were youth sports leagues that stopped keeping score for fear of someone having hurt feelings. Then there's the football league in California that does keep score, but penalizes the teams that win by too much. Now, it appears we've reached a level of softness even Charmin can't match.